China now world 8217 s largest oil importer
The US has been overtaken by China.
The US has been overtaken by China.
China has overtaken the US to become the world's largest importer of oil, showing the rising strength of the Asian nation.
New figures revealed by the Energy Information Administration showed consumption in China outstripped production by 6.3 million barrels a day, compared to 6.1 million barrels in the US.
The US currently uses 18.6 million barrels of oil per day compared to China's 10.9 million, although the Asian country's use of the commodity is rising.
Jason Gammel, head of European oil and gas research at Macquarie, told BBC News that the US could be producing 20 to 22 million barrels of oil per day by 2022.
He said: "The US has moved very quickly to utilise fracking and horizontal drilling activities."
Last month, it was announced that China National Offshore Oil Corporation has paid $2 billion (£1.3 billion) for the right to develop the Kingfisher oil field in Uganda.
The body thinks it will be able to extract 196 million barrels from the location.
Learn about the Asian markets and CFD trading at City Index